Got these 3 Bushpigs in the maize last night, walk and stalk in the moonlight.



Blaser R93 375H&H
250gr Barnes TTSX
Zeiss Victory 2.5-10x50

Cheers

Congrats!

Good job!

Nice!.....looks like fun.

great stuff there guy. Would love to hear an amplification on that story.
I for one prolly may never make it to Africa, got any more pix of bushpigs or warties. May be my ignorance showing but the white projections near the front of the snout of the pigs on the left and right, tushes?

Any chance of getting a better look at that Blazer.

Don't be a stranger.

Best

GWB

Geedubya..

Hunted them on foot, walking and listening in the maize. Would say walk and stalk but the entire walk from exiting the vehicle to getting to the field and then finding them is one long stalk. Yes they do have sizeable tusks on them, good sized ones are generally 7-8" with 4-5" being visible. I'll try find a picture of the Blaser where its more visible. Doubt I would've managed to fire off 3 Rounds with another Bolt action that isn't straight pull.

Cheers

Hey Deon

Nice pigs, where is Umshwati?

I hunt down here in Southern KZN.
Here is a pig I shot two weeks ago over my hounds here in the Maize at Harding.

We also walk and stalk at night but very seldom do you get 3 pigs in one go like that.

How often do you hunt there?
Chat soon
Ian

Ian,
pardon my ignorance, I don't know all that much about African game. Would that also be a bushpig. Due to the camera and the orientation of the pig and yourself it is hard to get a feel for the size. Any idea of what your pig weighed? What range of weight do bushpigs generally run? What do ya'll do with the meat? Enjoy you guys posting your pig pix. Keep them coming.

Best

GWB

PS: I didn't know anyone in Africa owned a pair of trousers. All I ever see you guys on the hunting shows in is a pair of shorts. Where I hunt that's almost a warrant for a "death from a thousand cuts", not to mention attacks by fleas. Here when an animal starts cooling off, the fleas quickly look for a new host. I've found one of the best ways to deal with this is to take some dishwashing soap, mix it with water and put in a insect sprayer and hose the animal down. Do that an almost no fleas on your person.

Geedubya

That is also a bushpig as can be seen in Deons pics, but it is a monster of over 130kg.

Our pigs in KZN get very big because of the year round food supply and the fact that they eat Maize for half their lives.

The meat is great to eat although I have found that old pigs that make their nests in Lantana thickets absorb the smell of it into their flesh and consequently end up as dog meat. The ones living in the maize are generally carrying a lot of fat and make great eating pigs.

There is a big varience between the bushpigs taht live in the KZN Bush and the KZN Farmlands, then you get a smaller bodied less agressive pig in the north of the country and the Mpumalanga pigs live in the blocks of maize and tend to be easier on the dogs. We have the most injuries from the KZN and Western cape bushpigs that inhabit actual bush as they tend to get harassed by the most predators and in our case the poachers dogs.

We get very aggressive pigs here and I have shot three this season in self defence when we had a full on charge from them.

Your hogs over in Texas look like they get very heavy and have long tusks, what do they do with dogs?

Looking forward to hearing from you
Ian

In all the years I hunted hogs I have only been charged once. The picture of the big hog with the young man in it was that instance. He had shot it and wounded it. We were tracking it in thick brush. He charged. I knocked the boy out of the way. The hog literally ran between my legs and knocked me over. If he'd have hooked my femoral artery I'd have bled out right there. I sent the boy on back and finished tracking him to where he was laying by a cedar log. I yelled back to the other guys I'd found him. He got up and charged from about 20 ft. I put 7 45 cal. jhp's from a glock 36 in him and he expired at my feet. At that moment I could have sung "suprano" as my nuts were in my throat.

As to how they do the dogs, I'm not a dog man, but Larry Matherne, Duckman and Ultramag who post here are. I do know that they maim and kill dogs at intervals. Yes, some of them have some pretty good tushes. I once knew a ranchhand that hailed from Junction Texas. He had shot a boar that they had trapped in a pen. He shot him five times with a 357 mag. Hog was down when he went into the pen. Hog got up and got him. It ripped him from stem to stern. Both legs and arms, from navel to sternum. He almost bled to death. After he was healed up and the stitches removed he literally looked like a “raggedy Andy” doll that had been stitched together.

In the southeast and eastern United States there are much more river bottoms and cropland. The hogs get much heavier there than they do where I hunt, being the Texas hill country. There is little to no croplands or “riverbottoms where I hunt. Hogs are omnivorous and literally have to “root hog or die” in that country. Consequently in the fourteen years I’ve hunted the hill country the largest we’ve killed weighed 315 lbs..



315 lbs. on the hoof. The headless porker was the 375 lb. hog that charged me.

I’ve probably only killed a dozen or so over 250 lbs.

Here are a few of the ones I’ve come in contact with. Not necessarily the biggest or best , but had the photos handy.……….

Best

GWB
































PS: I know everyone wants to come to Africa for trophies. I think it would be a kick in the pants to do a trip for varmints and pigs.

GW, that is about a mountain of stink!

Geedubya

Here's a pic of a pig with a better view of the rifle. This time had the 416 Rem Mag Barrel on though and a Leupold VX7 2.5-10x45. Shot on Bait. Angle of Photo makes a big difference in perception of size. This sow weighed 102kg, the one in the first pic I posted weighed 95kg, but due to there being a few more pigs in the pic the angle didn't help so it looks quite a bit smaller compared to this pic..



And here's another one just for good measure. Shot with a 270 Win Blaser R93 and 160gr NP. Walked and Stalk as well.



Ian, that's a monster to say the least. Nice work.

Cheers

Deon,

Mighty fine, mighty fine.

Luv it. Looks like you guys have a bit of fun yourselves. Great stuff,

Also groovin' on your Blasers..........

My Merkels want to be Blasers when they grow up.


Merkel K1 Stalking Rifle, 9.3 x 74R, Merkel K1 Jagd Stutzen, 7mm-08

May never make it to Africa, but I'll own a couple Blasers before it's over.

What do you think of the R93 vs. the R8's

I'm coveting an R8 Professional in 30-06 at the moment.

Hope ya'll keep on posting pix. Does this parochial Texan some good to see stuff such as your pigs.

Best

GWB

Deon,Ian- Great Bushpigs thanks for sharing would really like to hunt them with dogs one day.

Ian- What breed(s) of hounds do you run?

Deon- I Really like the Blaser as well

GWB- Beautiful Merkel's and boars as well

Thanks all for sharing

Aloha,

Dom

day-um! lots of nice piggies here. i cant seem to find a feral hog with the kind of teeth they have on this thread. nice rifles also.

GWB...i think going to africa for the small stuff is a great idea. pigs, the small cats, baboon, jackel, etc... i would have a blast and i already have the guns

Hi Dom
Sorry for the delay in getting back to you.

I use a combination of Bluetick and Redtick hounds.
All of my original bloodlines come from packs out of the US. My reds run back to the Lee Brothers lines of Bear and cougar hounds. Hard baying hounds with big hearts.

My Blues are all out of Canadian lines with big voices and have noses that cant be beaten. If you make it out here one day it will be great to have you run with my pack. We seem to be doing really well on big gnarly boars at the moment so it all makes for some great adrenalin pumping fun.

Do you hunt with hounds?
Chat soon
Ian

Deon,
You are killing some damn nice pigs there. Well done.

Do you have seasonal changes in their habbits and distribution up there or do you find your populations are very stable due to the proximity to cane etc?
Chat soon
Ian

Aloha Ian,

Thanks for the reply! Sounds like you got some beautiful hounds there.

Yes, Ive hunted with many,many breeds of dogs in my life. Hunted with pure lines but majority is all mixed breeds. Also different styles of hunting calls for different attributes in the dogs.

Most dog hunters here breed for the type of dog they prefer. Hog hunting with Dog and Knife is our way of life here.

Wish you and your dogs all the best!

If I ever do make it out there I will surely let you know.

Aloha,

Dom

Hi Dom
Sounds like fun.
I agree 100% with the direction of your breeding. Even within the dogs we have we move towards the traits that fit the style of hunting.

What sort of knife do you use?
Ian

A dirty great big sharp one??

Ian

You need to get together with Luan who posts here & have him cook you one of his spit braiid bushpigs........ I absolutely guarantee it'll be the very best you've ever had!

You'll also laugh your socks off cos he's great company.

Steve
That sounds like a plan.
Will try get a nice young pig for the occasion, these old boars tend to be a big "tangy", for lack of a better word. AKA they stink like hell.

How things over your side, when you flying over?
Cheers
ian

Very well done and stalking bushpig at night is hunting at it's finest.

Ian that pig of yours must be the biggest I have ever seen.

Interesting to note that in Zambia the bushpig will only get half that size and much more reddish colour.

Andrew, thanks, yes it was a monster.

I am almost convinced that there are sub species amoungst the bushpigs in Southern Africa though.
There is such a varience in colour and size and it does seem to relate to the area they are living in etc.

The ones we are seeing down here were never present in the area until the food brought them down so I do think that they are unusually big because they are following the best food sources.

I would like to see some pictures of pigs from your side. What sort of weights do they get to as an average and what is the biggest you can expect.

One thing that I do think rings true in the US and here in Africa is that pigs are spreading everywhere.

Ours are small compared to what you chaps pull out. The boars do not have the pronounced snout and like I say much more red/orange.

Will try and dig up some pics for you.

Any idea on the largest to come out of RSA?

The hunting I have done for this specie generally has been first class and there are few animals that get the adrenaline going like a decent bush pig.

I tried for a week to kill a bushpig but rained everyday ,i hope to get one this year with my friend Willen de Jaeger.

Andrew
If you ever make it down my way please let me know. Will be great to take you out over the hounds for a pig.

One thing I can guarantee is that you will exhaust your supply of adrenalin on a big pig at close quarters. In my opinion it gets the blood pumping more than even buff as it is at close quarters and the reaction times are very short.
The VC 500 will be the best option.

With regards to size the biggest pure bushpig I have heard of was 145kg. It was a moose of a pig with unusually high body mass. Very big head too.

You will come across claims of 200kg bushpigs, but they are generally European wild boar cross, or even Landrace or Lareg Whiltes that have been crossed with the European boar or bushpig.

Easiest way to tell is by the shape of the snout and face as they can look very similar.

Agression wise bushpig are probably the most vindictive things on the planet. I have taken three full on charges this season and stopped 2 with brain shots where the pigs head was almost on the end of the barrel by the time you get the gun up.

Its the most fun you can have with your pants on. But make sure you kill the pig, or you will be sorry...

quote:

Originally posted by Deon:
Geedubya

Here's a pic of a pig with a better view of the rifle. This time had the 416 Rem Mag Barrel on though and a Leupold VX7 2.5-10x45. Shot on Bait. Angle of Photo makes a big difference in perception of size. This sow weighed 102kg, the one in the first pic I posted weighed 95kg, but due to there being a few more pigs in the pic the angle didn't help so it looks quite a bit smaller compared to this pic..



And here's another one just for good measure. Shot with a 270 Win Blaser R93 and 160gr NP. Walked and Stalk as well.



Ian, that's a monster to say the least. Nice work.

Cheers

Those are some nice Bush Pigs! I didn't get a big one last time in RSA, popped a small one. A HUGE sow passed near our blind one night (saw her in moonlight), but she winded us and hauled ass.